I watched Mike come in the kitchen first, then saw Raph and Addy. I still couldn't get over that he was actually here, nor the stories he'd told us, especially the one about him running out on Adalida. He'd been disoriented, scared. I would've ran, too.
"That smells good, Michelangelo," Adalida said, standing next to Mike.
He smiled. "Thanks, and you can call me Mike."
"Mike," she repeared, smiling.
"Watch out for him, Addy. Ya compliment his food and the next time he makes a new dish, he'll try it out on you first," Raph said, then gave Mike a smirk.
I smiled and continued with my breakfast.
"Jus' what are you smiling at, Donnie?"
I looked up and met Raph's gaze, which is definitely something to get used to. "Just that we're all here... and not arguing or fighting."
"I'll second that," Leo said, entering the room.
"Mornin, Leo," Raph greeted.
This is definitely something to get used to.
"Morning, Raph," Leo replied. "Hey, Don? Is he giving you a hard time?"
"Nope," I answered.
"And now, for everyone who was lazier than me and Donnie, breakfast is served," Mike said, placing a large plate of scrambled eggs on the table, along side a pile of toast and assorted fruit.
"Lazy?" Raph asked. "Mikey, I've always been that way. But last I remember, you weren't exactly a mornin' turtle."
"Yeah, living on a farm'll do that to ya," Mike replied with a shrug. "Now, where's the rest of our little group?"
I finished up my plate. "Hang on, Mikey, I'll do the next round of wake up calls..." I went to get up, then saw Shadow, April, and Casey trudge in. "Never mind."
Casey stopped while the ladies grabbed plates. "Wow. Breakfast without a brawl. Whatta concept!"
"Ya lookin' for a brawl, Casey?" Raph asked.
I looked over and saw an evil glint in his eye and a smirk forming. 'Oh no...'
"Casey, just grab some breakfast and sit," Leo said.
Casey muttered something, which earned him an elbow from April, then grabbed a plate.
Raph sat back in his chair, still smirking, while eyeing everyone.
Suddenly, I got an idea. Why didn't I think of it before? "Hey, Raph, can I talk to you a minute in the living room?"
He gave me a questioning look, then shrugged. "Sure." We got up and went into the other room, away from everyone else. "What's up, Donnie?"
"Well, I was thinking..." I began, and Raph smirked. "Anyway, I wanted to ask about your eye..."
"Donnie, I really don't..." he started.
I shook my head. "No, no. What I meant was, lately, I've been working on a new experiment involving eyes. I just thought maybe..."
Raph laughed a little. "I hope it's a big experiment, Don, cuz there really ain't much to work with, but if ya really wanna have a look for yourself, be my guest." He pulled off the bandanna and sat down. "Now, jus' don't go and get nauseaus, Donnie."
"Enough talk, big mouth, and let me look," I chided.
"It's your breakfast," he said, then pulled off the patch.
My eyes went wide. "Wow..."
"I told ya, but ya didn't listen, didja?" Raph said.
"Yes, you did," I said, then pulled out a small flashlight from my belt.
"Feeling brave, huh?" he asked, smirking.
"Just tell me if you can see the light at all," I said, then switched the light on to take a better look.
"Ya know, I threatened Mikey with it," Raph said.
"Mike would probably pass out," I commented. "See any light?"
"Only getting a very dark gray," he replied. "Is that good or bad?"
"Well, good in that everything's not totall black. Bad in that gator really got you good," I said, then paused. "So, Adalida really patched this up for you?'
"Yeah, at the time she was studying to be a nurse, but she got away from it. She'd said after she finished cleaning it up she almost passed out," Raph explained.
I switched off the light. "I'll take a look through my paper work and see what I've got." Beat. "Oh, uh, if you don't mind going along with this, that is."
"Do I mind? Hell, no, Donnie, I don't mind," he said, replacing the patch.
"Then that leads me to another question," I said, then watched him replace the bandanna. "How long are you planning on hanging around?"
"Indefinitely. Addy's gonna stay, too," Raph said.
"That's great," I said, as we started for the kitchen.
"Hey, Donnie, do me jus' one little thing. Don't mention this to the others, okay?" he said.
I stopped. "Why not?"
"I wanna make sure whatever you do works first," Raph said, then smirked.